By Seth Boyes,
County Supervisor Shirley Vermace encouraged local voters to not only cast their ballots during next month’s election but to engage in local politics. (Photo by Seth Boyes)
Iowa is still a purple state, according to Iowa’s State Auditor and Decorah native Rob Sand.
The auditor of state was the opening speaker Sunday afternoon, during the Winneshiek County Democrats’ Politics in the Park fundraiser event in Decorah’s Phelps Park. Sand encouraged local Democrats to approach their neighbors with kindness when discussing politics, saying he feels many Republican voters have been questioning Republican policies and actions in recent years — which Sand feels is an indication voters are paying attention to the issues rather than maintaining strict allegiance to a party.
“This is a purple state,” Sand said. “Iowans just need to hear a little bit more about what it is that Democrats stand for and who it is Democrats are, and they’re not going to hesitate. They’re not allegoric to voting for Democrats. They just haven’t been doing it quite as much as they were before. So we’ve got to talk to them.”
The auditor rattled off a number of statistics for Sunday’s audience, to support his point. He highlighted past campaigns like Democratic candidate Rita Hart’s 2020 bid against Republican U.S. Rep. Marionette Miller-Meeks, which Miller-Meeks won by only six votes — the closest congressional race in U.S. history, Sand said. He noted Democrat Teresa Greenfield lost to Republican incumbent U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst that same year by the second smallest margin in the country that cycle. Sand pointed out that he himself, as well as former Democratic Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller and former Democratic Iowa Treasurer Mike Fitzgerald, secured approximately half the vote in their respective races during the 2022 election — Miller and Fitzgerald were overcome by their Republican opponents, Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird and Iowa Treasurer Roby Smith.
“This only feels like a red state because the people under the golden dome in Des Moines want you to think that,” Sand said.
Winneshiek County has approximately 3,670 active Democratic voters and about 4,360 active Republican voters, according to October statistics from the Iowa Secretary of State’s Office, but the county is also home to more than 3,800 active no party voters. Organizers with the local Democratic Party said they hope to get as many Democrats to vote in next month’s election as possible. The Secretary of State’s report showed about 960 inactive Democrat voters in Winneshiek County as of October, with about 560 inactive Republican voters and more than 1,500 inactive no party voters.
Winneshiek County Supervisor Shirley Vermace, who is seeking reelection to the county’s District 3 seat, also encouraged voters to continue being active not only at the polls but in local politics. She noted a number of attendees at Sunday’s event have written letters to local officials, attended public meetings and in some cases filed lawsuits.
“We need that,” Vermace said of the public’s engagement. “Because there’s some shenanigans happening, and you all matter in that fight for transparency, trust and facts.”
A group called the Driftless Water Defenders filed a legal petition against the county board of supervisors in August, asking a court to set aside a previous 3-2 vote from the board, which approved a rezoning request for a proposed biodigester facility near Ridgeway. The group has since filed a similar case against the Winneshiek County Board of Adjustment. Both court petitions claim the public was denied a fair opportunity to be heard during each board’s respective public hearing process.
Vermace and fellow County Supervisor Mark Faldet — who is not up for reelection this year — were the two dissenting votes on the board of supervisors.
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